Mary Jo Catlett: Bridging The Gap With Dolly!

David Burns and Mary Jo Catlett Hello, Dolly! 1964

Mary Jo Catlett is notable for her role as housekeeper Pearl Gallagher on the television sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, and currently for her role as Mrs. Puff in SpongeBob SquarePants, which she has held since the show's debut.
She was also in the original Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! starring Carol Channing as Ernestina Money.

Mary Jo and I sat down to talk after the opening night of Bette Midler's Hello, Dolly!
Prior to this production opening, Mary Jo was talking with a friend of hers and she said, "Oh, they're going to do Dolly with Bette Midler and she's perfect for it. She truly is the most perfect Dolly since Carol, in my opinion." Then in came off the top of Mary Jo's head, "Wouldn't it be fun if they invited some of the original cast members." Mary Jo's friend said, "That's a perfect idea!

You should talk to somebody." Well, that planted a seed and the wheels started turning.
Mary Jo's dear friend, theatrical attorney Mark Sendroff, who is a great guy, after speaking with Mary Jo, said, "Let me forward this on to Scott Rudin and see what he thinks." Shortly thereafter, Mary Jo received an email from Scott Rudin saying, "I wish I had this idea! I think it's a terrific idea and we;re going to make it happen." Then the waiting game began. Mary Jo didn't hear and she began to think, 'It's not going to happen.' She resolved herself to the fact that that opening night ticket was next to impossible to obtain.

Charles Nelson Reilly, Eileen Brennon, Jerry Dodge, Sondra Lee Original company

She kind of wrote it off.

Just about three weeks prior to opening night, the email came in that she would have a ticket. She received a follow up email telling her that she would have a ticket plus one. She got excited that she would be able to bring a best friend with her.

She followed up with very appreciative e-mails. Mary Jo credits Sendroff for really getting things in motion.

Mary Jo from Different Strokes

 In addition to Mary Jo, David Hartman (Rudolph), Sondra Lee (Minnie Fay), and Ron Young (ensemble) also attended.  It was a great reunion.

Mary Jo knew going in that she would probably start to tear up seeing the dancing once again from Before The Parade. What really got her, however, was Put on Your Sunday Clothes (choreography, by the way, for this production is by Warren Carlyle with a huge homage to Gower's original choreography).

Out of all of the choreography for this current revival, Mary Jo feels, repectfully, that Sunday Clothes came the closest to Gower's original concept and you just can't go wrong with that.

Mary Jo missed the original choreography from Parade. When Gower choreographed the original, there was a wonderful musical interlude in which Dolly sings "Look at that crowd over there' and the curtain rises to reveal one fireman,

David Hartman and Mary Jo Catlett opening night

'Buttons' Leonard in the original, starts prouncing out as the leader of the parade and little by little the rest of the parade emerges with a big build.

As much as she loved Carlyle's choreography and Jerry Zaks direction in that number, there were aspects from the original that she missed.  Sunday Clothes was the 'take you away' number!  She turned to her date, Rodney, and said, "I keep seeing ghosts up there". It was reminiscent of Follies for her!

Eileen Brennon and Sondra Lee Original production

"It was thrilling, exciting, and a bit scary." As of this writing, it has been 53 years since the original production of Dolly opened on Broadway.  Since the original production, Mary has seen subsequent productions with Channing and she also caught Pearl Bailey and Ethel Merman during the original run. She also worked with Ginger Rogers and Dorothy Lamour in their productions.

When Mary Jo originally auditioned for Dolly, she auditioned to be in the chorus. She was required to audition with '8 bars'. She wracked her brain trying to figure out what she should do. She chose Everything's Coming Up Roses. She started with, "Goodbye to blueberry pie..." and went on from there. Carnival! He came to a club where Mary Jo was performing at the time.

Mary Jo celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Dolly at Sardi's

They said, "Thank you", and she left. She felt satisfied because she got to meet Gower Champion whom she had long admired.  She had met him once. Mary Jo is from Denver and he came to Denver with 

After her audition, she went about her business as most actors/actresses do, reading Back Stage, and auditioning for other shows.  One such audition that she wanted to go after was Jerry Herman's Milk and Honey. She was able to tell this story to Jerry Herman later. She got the audition and then got scared. She felt she was too young. They were casting older actresses.

with Jeanne (Lehman) French

She got called back for Dolly...FOUR TIMES!  One day she was walking down the street and an actor came up to her and said, "I heard you got Dolly!" She said, "I did?" That's how she found out! She was surprised. That's how news traveled in those days.

She ran home and to her answering machine. Indeed there was a call from the Merrick office. Lucia Victor, who was the stage manager, had left a message. She was cast as a chorus member. In the original concept, during I Put My Hand In, there was a crossover of four ladies, called the four biddies, very a la the Pick a Little women from Music Man. It never made it beyond the rehearsal stage. It was just a cross over bit in which they would talk to Dolly.

Mary Jo heard years later that Merrick said to Champion, "We have to fire that heavy set girl." It's not easy to acclimate her into the other chorus numbers. Gower, thank God, said "Let's not be too hasty.Maybe I can figure something out for her." Lucia came over to Mary Jo one day when she was still being a biddie and said, "Gower would like you to read for Ernestina. That role had already been cast so Mary Jo thought it would be to understudy her. Lucia asked Mary Jo to keep it under her hat and not tell anyone.

The original concept of Ernestina had her more glamorous. Gower felt that it should go in a different direction and be more comical. He wanted more of a sight gag. He also wanted someone who could sing.

Renee Taylor came in to audition for the role and Mary Jo found herself in the hallway with her. Renee said to Mary Jo in that inimitable style of hers, "I think you're perfect for this."  Mary Jo went in, read for it, and she got the part!

In the early stages, a lot of actors came and went. Several Barnabys were fired before they settled on Jerry Dodge. In was in Washington DC when Mary Jo felt that they were in a hit. This was, of course, after Detroit. In Detroit, there was a show that preceded Dolly called Bravo, Giovanni.

with Patricia Morrison

For some reason, it didn't capture an audience and there was a sort of hatred for this musical that surrounded it.

One review in Detroit began it's review of Hello, Dolly, with, "Not since Don Giovanni have I seen a worse show!" The entire company was crest fallen because they truly felt they had something. Gower decided to take chunks of the show and redo them.  There were approximately thirteen people replaced at that time, maybe even more. It was a sad time. Working with a company like this, it is very much a family and close bonds do form. For some, it was the best thing that could have happened because they went on to better things. Always at the center, however, was Carol Channing who was a comedic genius. 

When they got to Washington, Richard Coe, who was THE top critic with The Washington Post, raved about the show. There was a swing in Dolly, Alvin Beam, he said, "We can get a new refrigerator! We can get anything on time payments. We are a hit." 

Opening week was a tragic week. The first performance was on November 18th, 1963 at The Fisher Theater in Detroit. On November 22nd, President Kennedy was assassinated.  Trying to be excited for a show against the backdrop of a worldwide tragedy was horrible and forever burned into Mary Jo's memory. She shared a dressing room with three other women and they were just sitting around talking when Charles Nelson Reilly came in to break the news. Now, please take into account, that every few days he would come into the dressing room with something hilarious and they would be screaming with laughter.

Carol Channing was always a trouper!

On this particular day, he came in and said, "They shot Kennedy."  The women responded with, "That's not funny." They could not believe this could be real. He said, "No. It's real." These little black and white TVs were brought in. They were placed in the dressing rooms. Everything came to a complete stop and they gathered around these TVs and couldn't stop watching everything as it was unfolding. Everyone from Gower on down were so terribly down. Of course, the show was cancelled that night. This was a huge deal. That just didn't happen.  It was a good thing because the entire company was awash. Even Carol, who was a trooper, couldn't go on. It was unbelievable that something like that could happen.
The next day was dark as well. They did go to rehearsal that second day. Gower sat down and addressed the entire company. Everyone consoled each other and they all knew they had to go on. Because of the shape the show was in, they also knew they had to keep working to ensure the show's success. "It is amazing that theater folk are such heroes. There are many times that we have to go on when tragedy strikes."

The biggest change Mary Jo saw, which is still no longer a part of the show is the Come and Be My Butterfly number. That was in place of the polka contest. Jerry Herman says that it is one of his biggest regrets that it was cut. Mary Jo says it was a beautiful number. There are a few pictures around. There were women scantily clad with these extensions like gossamer butterfly wings. Look at Tessie Tura in Gypsy. This was popular in that day. It was artistic. Unfortunately, critic Walter Kerr told Gower Champion after a smashingly successful opening that he didn't think Come and Be My Butterfly was on the same par as the rest of the show. 
In the number Horace is chasing Barnaby and Cornelius and they are getting caught up in the wings.
David Burns warns the women, Watch those feelers, Miss!" 
He was brilliantly funny in this number. This number was cut after Carol Channing left the company and Ginger Rogers stepped in. It went into the Mary Martin company and has been there since. This was probably at a loss of $30,000 which was a lot of money then. It probably cost $100,000 for all of the costumes of Dolly. 
These numbers cost a lot of money and time.   
When Before The Parade Passes By was added in Washington DC, it went in even before costumes were constructed!  It was a mishmash and the audience was on their feet.  It really is Dolly's show. It's called Hello, Dolly! Audiences were so in love with that character as they are now with Bette as Dolly.

The first time Mary Jo heard Louis Armstrong's version of Hello, Dolly! was New Year's eve 1963.  In December 1963, at the behest of his manager, Louis Armstrong made a demonstration recording of "Hello, Dolly!" Gower got an advance and played it for the company. The company was a little modest about it. How wonderful of him to sing that song. He's well known! Then that recording exploded! 

It was good for Louis Armstrong and it was good for the show as well. Everybody was singing that song. Jerry Herman was over the moon. 
Next stop, St. James Theater on Broadway! One preview and then opening night, January 16th, 1964! Compare that to the current production, five weeks of previews with no out of town try out. 
The music started at the top of the show for Call on Dolly and the audience is roaring. Gower, who was very cinematic in his staging, had the back drop moving from stage right to left which gave the illusion of the cast moving. The company was standing in place but moving their feet. It was an incredibly brilliant way of staging it. Carol then made her entrance on the horse cart with the 'twins'. The moment she said, "Dolly! Levi...Born Gallagher", there was pandemonium in the theater. The same thing happens nightly with Bette. As Mary Jo, watched the opening with Bette, it immediately took her back to her own opening night. 

Alice Playten

Working with Carol Channing was a terrific experience for Mary Jo. "She's such a wonderful person. She was always so nice to me and Alice Playten. She was a brilliant Ermengarde. She found a wail that was uniquely her own. What an actress." Carol, Alice, and Mary Jo became buddies. Alice and Mary Jo used to go to Carol's apartment which was in an upscale hotel. 
Carol and Charles (Lowe) would say, "Come over! We'll have a slumber party." The three of them would do each other's hair and other similar things that young girls do on slumber parties. They had so much fun and Carol was great with all of this. 
They laughed a lot. Mary Jo also recalls the strange diets Carol was always on. Carol mostly ate chicken and turkey at that time. She would bring her silver containers with her to dinner parties.

Igors Gavon and Alice Playten

The cast were always being invited to these fabulous parties and Carol would always bring her own food. 
She would say to Mary Jo, "Now, Mary Jo, taste that and tell me how it is." It was just a beautiful time!
Mary Jo was very star struck and it was her first Broadway show. All the greats came to see the show. Mary Jo met Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, all these people that you just dream about.  She would be looking down the stairs as they came back stage. From time to time she would meet them but she was too shy to approach on her own. Carol got on to this and she would always let Mary Jo who would be attending that night.

"Oh, Mary Jo, tomorrow night, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor are going to be here!" Mary Jo was so excited and she came in early to get ready for the show in case she got to get a glimpse of this god and goddess. Then she heard, "Mary Jo Catlett to Miss Channing's dressing room." She went down and Carol said, "Oh, Mary Jo, I'm so sorry. Richard and Elizabeth are not going to be here tonight." Mary Jo said, "Oh no! What happened?" Carol responded, "Elizabeth is under the weather." Mary Jo responded, "I'm so sorry. " Carol answered, When Elizabeth called, I told her Mary Jo Catlett is going to be disappointed."

Mary Jo asked, "What did she say?" Carol responded, "She said,'who'?" 
Mary sayed with the Broadway company for eighteen months. She then went on the road with Ginger Rogers and Dorothy Lamour. All told, Mary Jo was with Hello, Dolly! for three years. 
Ginger had a wonderful hair dresser named Kathy Engel. She had wonderful kids and Mary Jo bonded with her family. Ginger wanted Mary Jo on the road with Kathy and it was all negotiated and they had a great time. Looking back, Mary Jo doesn't think it was one of the best career moves she ever made.

Looking back, she would not have done it. 
She feels that she should have stayed in New York and kept auditioning. When you're in a Broadway show, it gives you a little entree into having a little advantage to go to another Broadway show. Being on the road for as long as she was, she came back to New York,for lack of a better word, 'cold'. She did get into other Broadway shows but it did take a while. She feels that if she had stayed that it would not have taken as long which would have been better for her career. 
There were no negatives, otherwise, working with Ginger. Her Dolly was very different from Carol's. She was an adorable Dolly. So Long, Dearie was the max. She did a little tap break and the audiences went wild! She was always great to work with. When Mary Jo first worked with her, she looked into Ginger's eyes and could not get over the fact that they appeared turquoise with gold flecks. 

She doesn't feel that film did those eyes justice. They were so beautiful. Nice lady AND the best she had ever seen with fans. She would sign every autograph. She would wait till the very last person and this would be, sometimes, a hundred people waiting! She would stick around and sign every single one after matinee AND evening. She was so wonderful to her fans. 
When she was doing Dolly on Broadway, a white stretch limousine would pull up to the stage door, and she would come out and stand on top of the stretch limousine and sign autographs for everyone. Marlene Dietrich used to do the same thing when she did her one woman show. This was a very clever idea. It gave fans a chance to see them. However, she wasn't the same with autographs. At least fans got a chance to see their movie goddesses. 

Dorothy Lamour

One of Dorothy Lamour's regrets was that she didn't do it on Broadway. Dorothy Lamour brought Dorothy Lamour to Dolly. People just came to see HER. They had loved her in all the 'Road' movies. She was a 'sweet' Dolly. She delivered the humor but there was an underlying kindness in her performance.    
Great to work with. Mary Jo only worked with her in Vegas. When Mary Jo went to Vegas with Ginger, they were scheduled to do twelve shows a week. This was a tab version of the show which emphasized the songs more so than the dialogue. They would do two shows a night. Mary Jo doesn't believe they had a day off. Not positive about that. Ginger, as is Carol, is a Christian Scientist. She could not do Sundays. She told them they would have to get someone else and that's how they got Dorothy Lamour. It was decided that Dorothy would do four shows a week and that Ginger would do eight. It wasn't as difficult a schedule for the two stars. They did not lose audiences. As a matter of fact, some people came to see both. 

The major names of the world came to see Carol Channing in Dolly

The biggest change that Mary Jo noticed years later when seeing Carol in later revivals and tours was that her tempos had slowed down. 
It was slower, but in a way, it was more meaningful. She really looked at the people she was talking to in the Dolly number. A lot of her performance was also now played out front to the audience, which is what they came to see. It didn't hurt the show at all. She was such a good actress that within each stage of her aging, she was true to herself. 

Mary Jo's memories of seeing Pearl Bailey's Dolly was that she was 'real fun'. She was Pearl Bailey first and Dolly Levi second casting asides to the audience.
When Mary Jo saw Bailey's production, Cornelius' understudy went on that day. After all the bows, Bailey called him center stage and said, "I think this young man deserves extra applause." He had done a brilliant job and she gave him a star bow at the end. Mary Jo thought, "Now, that's a giving star. Very nice." 
Bette Midler..."What can you say? She's fabulous and I hope everyone will see it and tell their friends to see it as well. Please do everything you can to go see her while you can. She's awesome! Awesome! Awesome!!! And so Beautiful as Dolly!" 
There's an adage. Always leave them laughing. On opening night, during the curtain calls, she got two huge bouquets of white roses. There must have been four dozen white roses. She was laden with these bouquets. She mocked surprise at receiving the roses and then staggers off! GO GO GO SEE Bette Midler! You have only until January 14th, 2018!

The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new. -Socrates

I'm throwing back the curtain and showing my followers the little man behind the Wizard who is always trying to put forth a positive image of a man. 

Let's Be Friends! I promise you a great experience!


You have the power to change anything, because you are the one who chooses your thoughts and feels your feelings.

Here are a Few Testimonials for Richard Skipper Celebrates: Next One September 10th 1PM Laurie Beechman Theater: Reserve HERE:

w/Ann Dawson, Emily McNamara, Ben Rimalower... AND a Beloved Cabaret Mystery Guest

What a wonderful afternoon at "Richard Skipper Celebrates" at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on June 18th. Do you remember Johnny Carson and the Tonight Show or WNEW AM from years ago.This show brought me back to those days. Besides being a wonderful entertainer, Richard is an fascinating interviewer. His guests in this show included Sarah Rice and Mark Watson, David Sabella, Warren Schein and special guest Sharon McNight.

It's been such a long time since I have seen such a wonderful show.

Richard has this event as a Sunday Brunch once a month. He is taking the summer off but will return with a blockbuster show on Sunday September 10th. If you are in the New York area please join me to witness talent that is rare seen any more. (September 10th, brunch at the Laurie Beechman Theater on West 42nd Street)

Elaine Marlowe Mitchell, NYC

Anyone who has an opportunity to see Richard Skipper's cabaret shows should BY ALL MEANS do so! They're sensational! Great entertainers, wonderful music, lots of laughs, just the best way to spend an afternoon! I just cannot wait for the next show because I will DEFINITELY be in the audience (quietly singing along)!
Arlene Jacks, New York, NY

Today again, Richard Skipper brought together an eclectic array of exceptional talents in his Father's Day Show.  Richard's upbeat personality and his superb showmanship always put a smile on my face and uplift my spirits.  Thank you, Richard, and bravo! 
Eileen Lacy,  New York, NY

Sit Back! A New News Cycle Is About to Begin!

Thank you, to ALL who are mentioned in this blog for showing me that it is up to ME to lead by example!

With grateful XOXOXs ,

 

CallonDolly.com

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TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED DAY

Richard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com      

Put a Fork in Me! I'm Done!!

The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. - George Bernard Shaw

Happy June 1st!
June is Bustin' Out All Over and I'm ready to embrace the possibilities of what lies ahead.  June 1 is the 152nd day of the year. There are 213 days remaining until the end of the year. As I sat down to begin my blog today, I was listening to

Barbra Streisand singing Just Leave Everything to Me from the film version of Hello, Dolly!
That is apros pros if you know me...on so many levels.  

Yesterday, I had an epiphany. How appropriate that this was happening on the eve of Pride. Pride month for me is EVERYONE finding Pride in who they are and what we are all about. 
When we embrace and learn from our mistakes, we become our best selves. THAT is my epiphany. 
Two days ago, Kathy Griffin made a 'mistake". Or was it? Perhaps it reveals more about her than we even knew existed. It also sparked many debates. I stupidly engaged in some of those

debates. 
My next thought? WHY AM I ENGAGING IN THIS!?!?! I found that even after I stated my thoughts on this that I was wasting time trying to defend my position. It weighed me down yesterday. In addition to that, every other post in my newsfeeds on social media was about a made up word from our POTUS in a late night tweet. 
"Covfefe" may have amusing for the first hundred and eighty thousand posts and memes. Can we please move on now? Talk about getting tiresome!

Then there are the ones who try to justify Griffin's actions. My thoughts are that she feels that this country is so polarized that she could be as outrageous as she possibly could and people would stand solidly behind her. After all, even HE said that he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth

Avenue and not lose many in his base. 
She was/is in for a rude awakening. There have been countless other celebrities who have found themselves in PR nightmares. It is going to be interesting to see how this unfolds. CNN has already fired her from co-hosting their New Year's Eve coverage with Anderson Cooper.
There are some comedians who feel 

How did we go so low? I have several theories that I am going to try and attempt to explain in today's blog and then I am going to tell you what I am doing about it. My big reveal today.

I am 56 years old. I'm not exactly sure what that is supposed to look like or feel like. I am reminded daily on what the rest of the world THINKS that should be. I was watching Middle of The Night on TCM last night in which the leading actor (Frederic March) was supposed to be 56. He looked and acted years beyond where I am at this point.     
I mention my age because I am proud of where I came from. Sometimes, it takes distance and time to appreciate what you had. As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I grew up in a small town in South Carolina.  
At the risk of being repetitious, my father was one of 10 children, my mother the oldest of 16, and I the oldest of 4. I came from a large family. As with most families, there was dysfunction. However, there WAS a strong sense of family. I've also mentioned in previous blogs that I left home at the age of 18, right after graduating from high school. Not only was I running towards something, I was also running away.
Once again, however, I grew up in a household in which my parents never went to bed not knowing where we were. We, of course, were home. We sat down as a family unit every night and ate together as a family. I know I can say the same of all of my aunts and

Lucille Ball: A comedienne who was FUNNY without offending!

uncles and their own offspring. We all sat down to watch television together as a family. My parents were not overly concerned that some image, comment, or situation would pop up in which they would have to get up and change the channel. (We did not have a remote control). We also only had three networks: ABC, CBS, and NBC. We got our news from CBS and Walter Cronkite. We didn't question the news when we got it. I was eleven years old when Watergate happened. 
I remember hearing it on the news and from time to time I would hear my parents and older relatives discussing it, but it did not monopolize television beyond the 6PM news and Johnny Carson's monologue. 
When it was discussed, it did not erupt into arguments or 'if you don't think like me, I'm going to unfriend you.'
 

Betty White, Mary Tyler Moore, Vanessa Williams, Carol Channing: All classy

I want to go back to a simpler time. Think back to a time in which television was on from 5 or 6AM and then signed off with the National Anthem at 1AM or there abouts. We had ONE phone in our home. It was a wall unit in our kitchen. If one of us was on the phone and someone needed to get in touch with us, they would get a busy signal and would have to try back. Call waiting came about in the early 70s but that

LIly Tomlin as Ernestine on Rowan & Martin's Laugh In

was an additional cost that my parents did not feel was necessary. We also did not have Caller ID or ways of trying to block unsolicited calls and yet it never was a major intrusion in our lives. We also would NEVER think of calling anyone after 9PM unless it was an emergency. 
When I first moved to New York, one of my earliest jobs was working for the Green Room Answering Service and Annex Registry on 44th Street. It was a theatrical answering service.
For an additional fee, our clients could also purchase a pager in which they could be paged when their agents and/or managers and, once in a blue moon, a casting director would call them.
When they were paged, they would run to the nearest pay phone (during the day) and call to find out if they got a job or an audition or a call back.

It was very Sue's Answer Phone from Bells Are Ringing. As a matter of fact, I felt like Ella Peterson! I almost got fired for taking a coffee and danish to a client in lieu of a standard wake-up call. They WERE expecting me! 
Believe it or not, I used to do singing telegrams for Eastern Onion. I also had a pager and I knew the importance of returning those calls asap. However, you just lost out if someone got in touch with the agency quicker than you. 
My first eleven years in New York, I did not have a cell phone nor did I need it! 


There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. ~Jane Austen

Oh what Do I Do Now? I'm opening new Windows!

I don't even remember when I got my first cell phone. I do know that Danny and I had been together several years. It was a flip phone and I used it mainly just to let him know if I was running late or if something came up when I was out. I even forgot to take it with me most of the time.
It only has been in recent years that I got an iPhone at Danny's urging. He felt I should have

Seeking LOVE in this social media age

it because of my business and especially when I was doing PR for my clients.
I did not desire to be one of those people who walk around like the living dead constantly looking down at their devices instead of the world around them. (Luckily, I still have not gone that far).
I was trying to figure out today when I joined Facebook. I'm not exactly sure but it has been a major part of my life since joining, actually too major!

I know there are some who feel that I post too much on Facebook. They are probably right. I know that some people have unfriended me and/or unfollowed because of that. If any of you see this blog, I apologize. As I often say, I am a work in progress.
But I am vowing today that from this day forward, I will control Social Media instead of it controlling me. I choose to no longer debate with those that I have no vested interest in.
When our current POTUS was voted in, something, by the way, that I thought would happen, I had an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Sad that HE is not the CEO he would like us to believe he is

No, it was not because he is Republican, as so many of my Republican friends believe. It is because he is a bully. I have dealt with my fair share of bullies and I know one when I see one.
He also is not a leader. He instills fear instead of hope. I pray for our country.
I don't think that the bigotry and racism and hatred is coming to the forefront because of him. I believe he is a reflection of what this country has become.
Over the past few years and with the rise of 'reality TV', we have turned into a bullied and bullying society.
Every reality TV show is about someone being kicked off or made to feel less than.
At what time, did the behavior we see exhibited on these shows by adults become acceptable?

I want to remain a Southern Gentleman

At what point did it become acceptable to call each other bitch or worse and feel that it is acceptable? Every other post on Facebook and Twitter seem to drop the F-bomb as if it is perfectly acceptable. And, perhaps for some, it is. Not for me.
Is it wrong of me to aspire to a higher standard? I know that there will be some who may even be offended by this blog, and for that, I sincerely apologize.

The bottom line is that I am vowing to no longer wallow in the negativity. I know there is a lot of bad out there right now. In the past five weeks alone an 18 year old girl on vacation in New York was mowed down by a crazy person in Times Square, 22 young girls were killed attending an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, and a bombing in Baghdad at an Ice Cream parlor where families were enjoying a day out. When does this madness stop?
I am paying attention but my days cannot any longer be mired down in this. It is destroying my core. 
I have no idea! I'm not turning a blind eye or a deaf ear as to what's going on. I will work as hard as I can to deal with the injustices of the world. I, however, refuse to get involved with the negativity! ENOUGH! Put a Fork in me! I'm DONE!

I am starting my own #Resistance. I am resisting tuning in constantly to the negative news coverage, the negative programming on TV, the negative posts on social media, the negativity that has taken over our lives. My social media platform will be used for the common GOOD of celebrating others...which was my original intent!
I am very much rejoining the human race...devices left behind.

Did you know it was #SaySomethingNiceDay?

Life is so much better when you stop caring about what everyone thinks, and start to actually live for yourself!!

Come celebrate June 18th at 1PM (Brunch show). Reservations a MUST 1PM at The Laurie Beechman Theater (Doors open at 12:15PM) with Sarah Rice, David Sabella, Warren Schein, Mark Watson, AND a WELL KNOWN Mystery Guest! . ..AND a Mystery Guest! Go to RichardSkipper.com and click on the yellow star to order your tickets.

Sit Back! A New News Cycle Is About to Begin!

Thank you, to ALL who are mentioned in this blog for showing me that it is up to ME to lead by example!

With grateful XOXOXs , 

 

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NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.  FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!

Please do what YOU can to be more aware that words and actions DO HURT...but they can also heal and help!  
  

Keeping America great through Art!     

Here's to an INCREDIBLE tomorrow for ALL...with NO challenges!

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Keeping Entertainment LIVE!

 

TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED DAY

Richard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com